Hands and ears on the Google Home Max
Take a closer look at Google's $400 smart speaker tailored for audiophiles.
Sound quality to the Max
Google's latest smart speaker has the specs to appeal to audiophiles. The $400 Google Home Max takes the same digital assistant from Google Home (called Google Assistant), and adds premium sound tech for better music playback. Google's high end smart speaker is available now from the company's site as well as Best Buy and Verizon.
A more powerful Google Home
If you just want Google Assistant, you can spend much less on the original $130 Google Home or the $50 Google Home Mini. The Max offers extra oomph if you're particular about sound quality.
Adapting to your space
Specs include:
Six onboard microphones for far-field voice control
Two 4.5-inch (114 mm) high-excursion dual voice-coil woofers
Two 0.7-inch (18 mm) custom tweeters
Inputs: USB-C (for separate Ethernet and digital audio dongles), 3.5 mm auxiliary, Bluetooth
Acoustically transparent fabric in two colors: chalk and charcoal
Silicone base
The Max will also adapt to the room it's in -- subtly adjusting the bass and treble mix on its own depending on the reverberation it senses from nearby walls.
Stereo or Mono
The Max will also act differently if it's placed vertically instead of horizontally. When horizontal, it's left and right sides will play sound in stereo. If you turn it on its side, the Max will switch to mono sound.
Inputs
In addition to a spot to plug in the power cable, you can also connect an auxiliary cable to the back of the Max and it has a USB-C port.
Charge your phone
You can use the USB-C port to charge your Google Pixel phone.
Chalk
The Max comes in two colors. Here's the chalk.
Charcoal
Here's the charcoal.
Stereo pair
If you have more than one Max, you can pair the two together to play music in stereo.
Ready for the audiophile
You'll be able to tailor the Max to your space to fine tune your listening experience.